How To Cancel At&t Cell Phone Service

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

It's almost summer, and it's time for something new. Maybe you're ready to ditch TV and spend time outside, or you want to try out a new carrier. Either way, you'll have to leave Big Blue in the rearview. Here's how to cancel your AT&T phone, internet, and TV service.

The process is slightly different for each service, so we'll walk you through basic instructions for all three. Don't worry if you find out that the grass isn't always greener; it's just as easy to rejoin AT&T if you want to.

How to cancel AT&T wireless service

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

We'll kick things off with AT&T's most common service — wireless plans. It's one of the easier platforms to escape, though you may not even have to cancel it at all. Let's run through a few of the most common scenarios:

Porting your number to another carrier

If you want to keep your number, but you're done with AT&T, don't cancel your service. Instead, hop on the phone with AT&T's customer service team and inform them of your decision. You can find AT&T's contact page right here. In fact, AT&T may offer you some sweet deals to convince you to stay.

You'll have to gather your account number and your PIN, which you will have to provide to your new carrier.

If you've decided to swap carriers, but you're not sure where to go yet, give a few of these handy buyer's guides a look:

Canceling your service

If you're not porting your number to a new carrier, the process isn't much more difficult. However, it might cost you a bit more money to flat-out cancel your service. You will have to pay off the remaining balance on your device, no matter how much you owe.

If you're still on an old plan that involves a service agreement, you may be subject to an Early Termination Fee (ETF) as well. Should you choose to cancel your service in the middle of a month, you will have to pay off that month's bill, too.

To find out what you may owe in terms of an ETF, follow these steps:

Go to Accounts & Services and find the My Wireless tab.
Scroll and choose the device that you want to check on. Enter the Manage Device & Features menu.
Look for the Service Commitment or My Wireless Contract section, where you'll find three sections:
1. If you're on an AT&T Next contract, there is no ETF
2. If you make monthly installment payments, there is no ETF
3. However, if you see that your annual service contract is from X date to Y date, you will have an ETF. Use this calculator to estimate your payment.
Estimate your ETF, if you owe one, and proceed to cancel your service.

Once you've calculated your ETF or remaining phone balance, give AT&T customer service a call and inform them that you plan to cancel. You can also use an online chat feature, though the agents may ask you to call instead.

If you're an AT&T Prepaid customer, you can allow your account to expire 60 days after running out of funds, provided that you don't have AutoPay active.

How to cancel AT&T internet service

Up next on our AT&T cancelation tour is internet service. It's not quite as popular as wireless service, but it certainly helps to what to do. AT&T's internet service typically includes a 12-month service contract, which means that you will have to pay an ETF if you cancel more than 14 days after activation. Here are the ETFs you can expect if you try to cancel after 14 days:

Months in service	ETF
1	$180
2	$165
3	$150
4	$135
5	$120
6	$105
7	$90
8	$75
9	$60
10	$45
11	$30
12	$15

Once you understand your ETF, here are the steps you'll need to cancel internet service:

Have the account owner call AT&T at 1-800-288-2020.
Make sure you have the account number and PIN on hand.
Call during normal operating hours. Any calls received outside of normal hours will be handled the next day.

See also:Best internet providers in the US

How to cancel AT&T TV service

The final AT&T service you might be ready to cancel is AT&T TV. Once again, the process is much the same as how to cancel AT&T internet, right down to returning your equipment and paying off your early termination fee. However, AT&T TV requires a longer, 24-month service agreement, so you're looking at approximately double the ETF for canceling early. Here's the month-by-month breakdown:

Months in service	ETF
1	$360
2	$345
3	$330
4	$315
5	$300
6	$285
7	$270
8	$255
9	$240
10	$225
11	$210
12	$195
13	$180
14	$165
15	$150
16	$135
17	$120
18	$105
19	$90
20	$75
21	$60
22	$45
23	$30
24	$15

Once you've settled your ETF amount, have the account owner call AT&T with their user ID ready. You then have 14 days to return your borrowed AT&T TV equipment to a local AT&T store, or Big Blue will hit you with a $120 no-return fee. If you own your AT&T TV equipment, you will receive a full refund upon return.

See also:How to watch or stream local TV channels without cable